Chilean Blueberries To Ship Into Savannah
Cargo is loaded and unloaded from the MOL Benefactor at container berth nine, at the Port of Savannah Garden City Terminal. (Georgia Ports Authority/Stephen Morton)
Georgia’s breakfast table just got a lot sweeter, with cheaper, fresher blueberries.
U.S. Department of Agriculture has cleared the Port of Savannah to serve as a new entry port for Chilean blueberries, according to a news release posted Jan. 16, 2018 by the Georgia Ports Authority.
Previously, the imported berries could only enter the U.S. through one of three regions: South Florida, Philadelphia/New York, and LA/Long Beach.
“Because Savannah is hundreds of miles closer to major Southeastern markets such as Atlanta, landing chilled cargo at Garden City Terminal means fruit reaches consumers faster, cheaper and fresher, with total transit time reduced by three to seven days,” said Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch.
Blueberries from Chile are now handled in a controlled environment by PortFresh Logistics, located seven miles from Interstate 95 and 15 miles from GPA’s Garden City Terminal.
“For importers, shipping product to a port that is closer to the consumer market creates a more efficient supply chain and reduces overall cost,” said PortFresh CEO Brian Kastick. “In fact, customers can reduce transit costs by $1,700 per truck when they use the Port of Savannah.”
Georgia’s deepwater ports and inland barge terminals support more than 370,000 jobs throughout the state annually and contribute $20.4 billion in income, $84.1 billion in revenue and $2.3 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia’s economy. The Port of Savannah handled 8.5 percent of U.S. containerized cargo volume and 10 percent of all U.S. containerized exports in FY2017.
GPA is working with the USDA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to increase the number of commodities and countries that can use Savannah as a port of entry. Blueberries are the latest addition to an expanding portfolio at the Port of Savannah, which now includes imported mangos, citrus, grapes, avocados, bananas, apples and pears.
“Savannah already has an established outbound refrigerated market serving exports of domestic products such as pecans, poultry and other proteins,” said Chris Logan, GPA senior director of Trade Development for beneficial cargo owner sales. “Loaded inbound refrigerated boxes represent an expansion opportunity, because they reduce repositioning costs, and deliver savings to our ocean carriers, importers and exporters. Perishables are a key and growing market segment for the GPA.”
Lynch said the GPA has invested steadily in refrigerated container racks, in keeping with an overall philosophy of maintaining infrastructure at least 20 percent above current demand.
The GPA’s FY2018 budget calls for the addition of five refrigerated container racks (for a total of 109), which will add 120 container slots. Once the addition is completed, the new total for rack slots will be 2,616. Counting 716 chassis plug-ins, Savannah’s total capacity will be 3,332 containers at a time.
The Port of Savannah offers on-terminal inspection offices for U.S. Customs & Border Protection and the Department of Agriculture, speeding the inspection process for chilled cargo. Inspection at local facilities can also be arranged, Logan said.